Teen sleeping in bed shot in Sicklerville, N.J.

A 13-year-old girl was shot while sleeping in her bed overnight in Sicklerville, New Jersey.

WPVI

Monday, July 07, 2014

SICKLERVILLE, N.J. (WPVI) --

A 13-year-old girl was shot while sleeping in her bed in the Sicklerville section of Winslow Township, New Jersey.

It was around 12:30 Monday morning when Tiya Hudson was sleeping on the bottom bunk inside a house on Hathaway Drive. That's when gunfire erupted outside.

Police believe a stray bullet ricocheted off the windshield of neighbor's car, went through the side of the home and hit the girl in the lower back.

She was taken to the hospital where she underwent surgery.

"I heard gunshots boom, boom, boom - and I heard a lady scream, then my sister screamed so I ran to get my mom," said the victim's sister, Toni Hudson.

Toni said she had just checked on Tiya, who was in the next room.

"When I came out my sister was crawling toward me saying she was going to die," Toni said. "I said 'you're not going to die.'"

Two other younger sisters, ages 11 and 7, their mother and a family friend, were also home at the time.

Tiya's mother, Betty, had first thought someone was breaking in until she saw her daughter crawling in the hallway. Family friend Larry Johnson called 911 and applied pressure to Tiya's wound.

"It was really chaotic at the time everything was happening," he said. "Hearing the kids, trying to make sure everybody was trying to stay calm, trying to go through the 911 call."

Tiya's mother says it's now difficult to feel safe in their home.

"We're not at the wrong place at the wrong time. We're home in bed and something like this happens," Betty Hudson said.

The victim's sister said it's going to be hard for Tiya to return home.

"She'll probably come sleep with me now," Toni said.

Her family says Tiya is going into 8th grade. She runs, she dances, she's very active - and they hope for a speedy recovery.

Meanwhile, Winslow Township Police and the Camden County Prosecutor's Office were on the scene investigating and collecting evidence.

Aside from Tiya, a woman in a home across the street was injured by flying glass after a bullet shattered a window.

She refused treatment at the scene.

Nearly a dozen shell casings were visible from the street.

Neighbors say they are worried about escalating violence in the area.

"It's been a lot of drama out here. I've seen a lot of cops around here trying to control it but, obviously, it's uncontrollable," said Anasiari White. I'm out here and I'm walking as well. It could have been my son, it could have been me, God forbid."